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By Presidential Proclamation, December 17 is Wright Brothers Day. The President is requested each year to issue a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Wright Brothers Day is an annual United States national observation. It is codified in the US Code and Wright Brothers Day commemorates the first successful flights in a heavier than air, mechanically propelled airplane, made by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers were American brothers, inventors and aviation pioneers...

For his new book, The Wright Brothers, ­Pulitzer Prize winner David ­McCullough pored over newspaper articles, photographs, and more than 1,000 letters to create a gripping account of Wilbur and Orville's quest to fly.

It is equipped with side stick controls like an F-16 Fighting Falcon. It uses an advanced, “mission adaptive” wing that has no seams at the control surfaces. The wing is so unique its design is protected under U.S. patent 821,393. The entire wing changes shape to control the roll axis of the aircraft ... And it is the first successful powered aircraft ever, the Wright Flyer. 111 years ago today Orville Wright became the first man to achieve powered flight. His first 12-second flight, covering only 120 feet, changed the course of mankind. 10:35 Local, Thursday, 17 December, 1903; Kill...